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Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp
|next= }} Chuck Versus the Sizzling Shrimp is the fifth episode of season one, which originally aired on October 22, 2007. Synopsis While at a Chinese restaurant, Chuck flashes on a Chinese spy who is in the US to save her diplomat brother from local Triads. Chuck then must repay the spy when he messes up her rescue attempt, and still find time to spend with Ellie and Morgan. Full Plot The episode begins with Morgan looking through a Chinese restaurant, called Bamboo Dragon, menu and asking Chuck if he told Sarah, who is entering the Buy More, about an "evening with Morgan." Chuck reassures him he did and Morgan leaves. However, as soon as Sarah asks, Chuck explains that he has not seen Ellie or Morgan much at all and wanted to have a dinner with the family and Sarah. Meanwhile, in Chinatown at the Chinese Consulate, a diplomat by the name of Lee Cho answers his phone and tells his older sister that he is fine. However, as he signals his driver to open his door, a Bamboo Dragon truck driven by local Triads shoot his driver and kidnap Lee as his sister is yelling on the phone, asking if he is okay. That night, Chuck, Sarah, and Morgan go to the Bamboo Dragon to pick up dinner through the backdoor. While in the kitchen, Chuck flashes on the tattoo of a waitress and identifies her as Mei-Ling Cho, a top Chinese spy. He tells Sarah and Casey back at home and is forced to spend the entire night trying to flash on documents given to him by Casey to figure out what Mei-Ling is doing in the United States. The next morning, Chuck is confronted by Ellie about standing her and Morgan up last night. Chuck excuses himself by saying Sarah had a spastic colon and he had to take her home. Ellie reminds him that their version of Mother's Day is tomorrow and Chuck promises he won't forget. At the Buy More, Chuck informs Casey that he didn't flash on the documents Casey gave him and Casey informs him they will be going on a stake-out that night. Big Mike interrupts them and tells Casey all the green shirts to report to his office. Big Mike informs all the green shirts that sales are down and he is having a sales competition with an iPhone as 1st prize, a large pizza as a 2nd prize, and the loser of the competition is fired. Thus, Morgan tries to actually sell with abysmal results. He asks Chuck for help and Chuck promises to see him tonight. Later that night, Chuck, Sarah, and Casey tail Mei-Ling, who is tailing Ben Lo Pan, a wheelchair-bound local businessman who supposedly owns half of Chinatown. They follow them to the Bamboo Dragon and Chuck flashes on Mei-Ling's pistols and assumes she is there to kill Ben Lo Pan. Sarah and Casey go in to catch her while Chuck stays in the car. Meanwhile, Morgan goes to Chuck's house and sits down despite Ellie saying Chuck isn't home (apparently a common occurrence). He informs an uncaring Ellie about his dilemma and leaves. Back at the stakeout, Chuck fools around in the car while Sarah and Casey engage in a fire fight with Ben Lo Pan's men and Mei-Ling. Ben Lo Pan escapes the restaurant and Chuck comes out of the car to help him in his limo and escape the firefight. However, he is shocked to see Ben Lo Pan order his thugs to put a tied up Lee in the trunk. Mei-Ling fires at the limo but they escape. Mei-Ling angrily confronts Chuck and tells him Ben Lo Pan is a Triad leader and he is holding her brother, Lee, hostage. She wasn't trying to kill Lo Pan like Chuck insisted but rather stage a rescue. She flees as Sarah and Casey approach and Chuck explains the situation. The next day, Casey and Sarah inform Chuck that Lee is a low level bureaucrat from Beijing and was kidnapped by Lo Pan's men to force the release of a Triad captain through a ransom. The Chinese government refused so Mei-Ling staged an unauthorized rescue operation. They also inform him that they must stay out of it despite his objections to avoid an international incident. Chuck claims responsibility for it but Sarah says that they can't save everyone. Morgan is dead last in the sale and tries to employ the help of Jeff and Lester, who leave him. Chuck is contacted through the phone at work by Mei-Ling who tells him the Triads put a clock on Lee's life and demands for Chuck's assistance in helping her. Chuck takes Casey to the Wienerlicious, where he asks Sarah and Casey if they can convince Mei-Ling to defect. Casey states that if Chuck gets her to defect, he'll rescue her brother personally. Sarah gets suspicious and asks why Chuck is asking all these questions. Chuck informs them she contacted him and the two handlers search the Buy More but to no avail. Chuck tries to finally help Morgan but he brushes him off. He then goes to the storage cage to sign for an apparent early delivery. However, it is a setup by Mei-Ling and she holds him hostage. Chuck brokers a deal that if Mei-Ling defects, Sarah and Casey will help rescue her brother. Mei-Ling is hesitant. Casey asks if this is out of loyalty to her government, the same one that abandoned her brother. Mei-Ling states that if she does this, she'll never be able to go back to China or see her brother again. Chuck adds that if she doesn't do something, she'll lose him forever. With her government refusing to help, she has no other options. The spies plan out a rescue in Ben Lo Pan's mansion while Chuck starts to get ready for Mother's Day with Ellie. However, the spies need Chuck's help and he excuses himself to Casey's. He is forced to help with the rescue since he is the only one familiar with the cameras. Mei-Ling, Sarah, and Casey infiltrate the mansion with Chuck navigating inside the truck. Meanwhile at the Buy More, Morgan becomes so desperate for the sales competition that he goes to Lester and Jeff for help. He genuinely helps a customer by telling her Large Mart has a lower price for a product than the same one at Buy More. Moved by his kindness, she starts to give him her number but Lester and Jeff's interference ruins it and she takes it back. The spies finally confront Ben Lo Pan but are dismayed to find out that the whole rescue operation is a setup. Ben Lo Pan has just been refused on his last offer to the Chinese government on Lee's life, but thinks he might have a shot with two American assets. Casey tries to warn Chuck to leave and go home but Chuck instead trails them back to the Bamboo Dragon. After seeing where the spies and Lee are being held, Chuck provides a distraction by setting off fireworks in the van. As the guards go to the commotion, Chuck releases everyone and hides with Lee while the spies deal with the Triads. As Ben Lo Pan tries to escape once again, Chuck stops him this time. Meanwhile, Ellie and Morgan bond over a moment at the apartment missing Chuck. Ellie says that while she is happy Chuck is with Sarah, she is disappointed that she never gets to see him. Morgan reminds her that Chuck went through some rough times getting kicked out of Stanford and getting dumped by Jill. The two finally start to come to an understanding. When Chuck gets home, he convinces Ellie to change Mother's Day to the next day. The next day, Morgan is about give in his letter of resignation when he is surprised to see Ellie buying a huge load of merchandise, giving him the credit and getting him into second place. However, he is shocked to find out that Big Mike never intended for anyone to get fired and it was just a plot for the green shirts to work harder. There was no iPhone and the pizza was for him. At the airport, Mei-Ling and Lee say goodbye and she thanks Chuck. Chuck, to preserve his own Buy More job, brings the moment back to the mundane, by asking her to sign his off-site service customer satisfaction report. Later that night, Chuck is surprised to find Morgan and Sarah at his house for Mother's Day, who Ellie invited. Chuck explains to Sarah that they celebrate Mother's Day in October because it's the anniversary of the day their mother left them and since their father "was never really there", it was the day they learned to take care of themselves. Trivia * This is the only episode where we see Chuck actually getting someone to sign his off-site install papers, although the concept is mentioned on several other occasions. * The villain, Ben Lo Pan, is played by the same actor who played David Lo Pan in the movie Big Trouble in Little China. * Casey refers to Ben Lo Pan as Ironside when he confronts him in his mansion, a reference to the (1967 - 1975) tv show in which the main character Robert T. Ironside is a paraplegic Chief of Detectives * This episode marks the first of several mentions to Sarah's fake "spastic colon". * Fernando is not listed in the sales competition board despite being a Green Shirt. Jeff, however, is listed despite being part of the Nerd Herd. Quotes Chuck: So listen, I've been thinking a lot about last night. And you know, you guys was talking about how this spy could be, you know, valuable, to us. So I was thinking what if we could convince her to, I dont know, like give up... some secret stuff... Sarah: You mean defect? Chuck: Defect, yes! People do that kind of thing all the time, right? The Hunt for Red October... uh... White Nights. Chuck: [after Casey stares blankly at him] White Nights? Gregory Hines, Baryshnikov, dancing their way to freedom? Casey: [sarcastically] Well, as long as you've done serious research on the subject. You get her to defect, I'll help rescuing her brother personally. Sarah: Why are you bringing this up? Chuck: Well, she sort of, uh, just... called me. Casey: She called you? Where? Chuck: At the Buy More. And I think she might been in the store too, because she knew my every move. She even knew I had mustard on my tie. Morgan: Dinner will be followed by a screening at Chuck's of the greatest kung-fu film: Chuck & Morgan: Enter the Dragon. Chuck: Prepare to die, my bearded friend. Morgan: Bring it, bring it, come on. What are you doing? Ow! Okay. Music * Hall & Oates - “Private Eyes” * Envelopes - “Sister In Love” * Rogue Wave - “Lake Michigan” Category:Season 1 Television Series Episodes